Do you have what it takes to be a Fight Night warrior? Fight Night is back - for our 11th year - on 24 May 2018. 20 fearless channel contenders will once again immerse themselves into the brutal world of boxing to raise money for their chosen charities.

What opportunities will the enlarged company offer partners, and what can they expect from the vendor in the second half of 2018? All will be revealed in this web seminar, which will see Datto SVP Mark Banfield lay out the vendor’s plans and discuss the investments it is making in its UK business.

Many businesses are moving to the cloud. In fact, 12% of SMBs have already made the move, and by 2020, 50% of SMBs will have moved all of their business systems to the cloud. Take advantage of this huge market opportunity by becoming a cloud service provider for your existing business.

To grow, to remain relevant to the customers, and to remain profitable, IT channels (in all their forms) will have to master a number of business model transformations in the cloud and digital transformation era. Read more to learn about the key transformations that IT channels will need to address, in order to bring new capabilities to customers and be successful in the future.

Cisco on the hunt for additional SME VARs

Networking giant launches its new Smart Business Communications System
portfolio

Cisco is hunting for more SME VARs after
unveiling its first packaged communications offering aimed specifically at
sub-50 accounts.

The networking giant used its annual partner event in Las Vegas to announce
its new Smart Business Communications System (SBSC) portfolio. At its core is
the UC500, which bundles voice, video, data, mobility and security on a single
device.

Ian Waters, marketing manager at Cisco’s European unified communications
group, said the vendor would lower barriers for entry into its SMB Select
partner programme.

“As part of this we are announcing a new SMB Select accreditation that
reflects the simplicity of the new products,” Waters told CRN.

The new accreditation features web training and will demand lower levels of
specialisation, he added.

“We want to double our global SME revenue stream by 2010, so we need to bring
on board new specialists for the UC500,” he said.

Waters denied that the launch would lead to greater conflict with Cisco’s
consumer arm Linksys and its channel partners.

“The distinction is about the types of customer out there,” he said. “Some
SMEs are after a complete packaged solution, including services, support and
financing. They will go for the UC500. Linksys’ SME customers buy on simplicity,
flexibility and price.”

John Pepper, managing director of Cisco gold partner
Minx,
said: “Small businesses that want to grow will now have the option of buying a
best-of-breed product at a viable price. The scalability of the product means
they can move the business through on a Cisco platform as they go along.”